Coupler and yoke connections



June 14, 1960 H. w. MULCAHY ETAL 2,940,609

coUPLER AND YoxE CONNECTIONS Filed Jan. 15, 1958 f f' JMW ll /J l/fo 3 l LN jg/4o le@ f@ W64/ L20 W Inverb'ors 5E Bb' 41H3 I 40 34 Harryl/l/.Mulcah mw Dorfjald RJ/i/JL/olrn'y W COUPLER AND YOKE CONNECTIONS Harry W. Mulcahy, Chicago, and Donald R. W. Holm,

Markham, lll., assignors to W. H. Miner, Inc., Chicago, lll., a corporation of Delaware Fired Jan. 13, 195s, ser. No. 708,635 1 claim. (ci. 213-70) This invention relates in general to improvements in coupler and yoke connecions, and in particular to the connection between' a yoke of the'so-called keyless type and the shouldered butt at one end of a coupler.

Among the objects of this invention is the provision of simple and efficient means for connecting the coupler and yoke of a railway draft rigging, wherein attachment of the coupler is readily made by use of a single locking element which has shouldered engagement with the yoke to prevent accidental dislodgement thereof and which is held in such shouldered engagement by the coupler butt and the yoke proper.

locking block having a anged nose portion extending between the spaced side walls of a yoke with shoulders on either side of such nose portions engageable with the edges of the yoke side walls whereby draft forces applied to the coupler drawbar are transmitted through the shouldered butt to said nose portion, to said shoulders and thence to the yoke side walls.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part appear hereinafter.

This invention is disclosed in the embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawing and it comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the application as indicated in the appended claims.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of this invention, reference can be had to the fcllowing detailed description taken together with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure l is a view in elevation of a yoke and the butt end of the drawbar of a coupler;

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view, corresponding substantially to the line 2-2 of Figure 1, portions of the butt end of the coupler shank being broken away.

Figure 3 is a sectional view in elevation, corresponding substantially to the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view in elevation, similar in part to Figure 3, but showing a modified form of locking block.

Referring now to Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the drawing, the butt of a coupler (not shown), having top and bottom transverse shoulders 12 and 14, ts Within the front end of a yokel which is of the vertical type having top and bottom straps 18 and 20 continuously with a vertical rear end section 22, and connecting spaced side walls 24 and 26 at the forward ends thereof. A flange 28 integral with the top strap 18 and portions of the adjacent side walls 24 and 26 extends downwardly from the front end of such top strap 18 to form a shoulder 341 adapted to be engaged by the shoulder 12 on the butt 10 of the coupler. The lower strap 20 of the yoke extends parallel to other strap 18 throughout most of the yoke length and is downwardly divergent at its forward end, as indicated at 32. The downwardly oset portion 32 merges with the side walls 24 and 26, which are laterally spaced from each nited States Patent .25 A more specific object of the invention is to provide a i .shoulder 43.

2,940,609 Patented June 174, 1960 lice other to accommodate the butt 10 of the coupler, and is provided with a step forming a shoulder 34 for retention of a locking block 38, as well as with raised integral wall elements 35 along the side margins thereof affording vertical support to the locking block 38.

From Figure 2, it will be noted that the side edges 36 of the bottom strap 26, as well as of the top strap 18, which is not shown, taper outwardly toward the front end of the yoke and merge with the upstanding side walls 24 and 26. A Y Y The locking block 38 has a base portion 40 which is of similar outwardly tapering configuration. The base por tion 4G merges at one end thereof into a anged nose portion 42 which extends upwardly from the base portion 4) at an angle of 90 degrees to form a rearwardly facing It is to be noted that the length of the nose portion 42, transversely of the base 40, is -less than the corresponding transverse dimension of the base 40adjacent to the nose portion 42. In this fashion, forwardly facing shoulders 44 and 46 Aare formed along each end of the nose 42 for engagement with the inner or rearwardly facing edges 48 and 5i) of the side walls 24 and 26.

Upstanding fillets 52 are provided to the rear of the shoulders 44 and 46 and by being integral with the nose portion 42 and the base portion 40 of the locking block to reinforce the line of juncture between suchportions. A modified reinforcing fillet is shown in Figure 4 in the form of an upstanding rearwardly extending wall or wing 54 adjacent to the side edges 36 of the base member. The inner surfaces 55 of both the fillets 52 or the wings 54 are parallel to each other and transversely spaced a distance suicient to receive thebutt 10.

The base 48 adjacent to the nose 24, as well as along the fillets 52 or wings 54, is downwardly recessed, as at 56, to ensure face-to-face shouldered engagement between the shoulder 43 of the nose portion ange 42 and the shoulder 14 on the butt 10. For the same reason, a similar recess 58 is provided in the top strap 18 adjacent o the line of juncture of such strap with the downwardly extending flange 28 and with the side walls 24 and 26.

The upper surface of the base portion of the locking block 38, other than for the recesses 56 above mentioned, is substantially flat and in surface alignment with the inner surface 60 of the yoke strap 2t) so that the butt 10, when positioned as shown in dashed lines in Figure 3 and the locking block is placed in position as shown, may be moved forwardly (to the left in the drawings) to the solid line position thereof without hindrance by an projections or surface misalignment due to the presence of the locking block 38. This result is facilitated by tapering the bottom surface of the base portion 40 at its rearward section, as at 62 in the drawings. The depressed area 64 along the bottom surface of the base portion 40 serves to reduce the weight of the locking block 38 without impairing the strength thereof.

Shoulder 34 is engageable with the rearmost edge surface 66 and prevents undesired rearward shifting of the locking block 38 when positioned as illustrated, while protrusion of the nose portion 42 between the side walls 24 and 26 of the yoke prevents lateral movement of the locking block.

The shoulders 44 and 46 adjacent to the nose portion 42 engage the side walls 24 and 26 and thus prevent the l locking block from being moved forwardly whereby the butt end of the coupler is prevented from being drawn forwardly through the opening between the side walls of the yoke by reason of shouldered engagement thereof with the nose portion ange 42.

To connect a coupler to a yoke in accordance with this invention, the coupler is inserted, butt end first, between the side walls 24 and 26 of the yoke and moved rearwardly therein to approximately the dashed line position iniFigure 3. LTlierenpon, the iocking blockrk" insertedntotheyokefabove-tl1ebottom-strap Y 20 but below the drawbar of the coupler, and Vthen moved forwardly into position` so that the nose portion 42 of the resilientnature is-insertedfbetweenethe rearv'end ofA the vcoupler `butt and the vertical rear wall 22 of the-Woke. s

IPhe -prestressed- 'eompres'sionforees in such draftf appli- Vance-biasJ the butt 10 :into engagement -withf-the '-yoke slloidcr jandtheeloek-ing block shoulder'43 at all "Sinrecertain-l changes Vcanbernadein theforegoingcon- @thereof betweenV which the rcoupler butt is-'positiona'blm 30 to the member which width decreases to form a narrow-sidewall section in proximityto the bottommem- Y ber, said locking block comprising a base terminating at Y istrnctionandlderent embodiments -of the-inventionl can Y, Y

one end in an integral upstanding nose engageable with a Y shoulder on said butt and having a lateral dimension less than the corresponding lateral Y dimension of the base adjacent to said nose top-forma base sholder on either side of the nose, such base shoulders engaging the edges of the Ryoke-v side-fwal1sat1the narrow sections "thereof to limit :outward movement oi the butt with ,respect tcmhe yoke andV the ,noseportion extex'iding"betvverenv,:thegnarrow sections of the side-wallsito,;.limit,lateral movement of thelocking block with respect to said yoke, the other end of said base terminating in astraigh transverse rear edge,

Vand a shoulder formedfin said bottom, strap for abutment with said straight rear edge of the base to prevent rearward movement of the locking. block when disposed in assembled position with the nose thereof extending between `thevr side wralls, otv thefyke.

References Cited :inatheiezof this Y STATESPATENTS 1,242,852 Y Patch -Oct.f.9,1. 19-17 1,279,174 vWoodman ,1Sept..17, 1918 1,730,855 Lounsbury Oct. .8, 1929 1,762,333 ,-,Haseltine Iune Vl0,;;19130 1,934,866 .Lehman ;,Nov.;.14, 1953 121,962,313

Lehman .:,1unef12, v..1934 

